The most important thing in tech today is …

Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer eyewear optical health company, posted earnings results that show the company investing in growth at a time when faith in direct-to-consumer peers might be wavering.

Warby targeted fiscal 2021 net revenue between $539.5 million and $542 million, a bump from earlier expectations. That would be 37% or more above 2020, and 46% over 2019. It’s also opening 35 new physical stores.

Why does that matter? Direct-to-consumer stocks (think Peloton) haven’t been soaring lately; tools and platforms that enable them (think Shopify and Bill.com) have been a better bet. But where the actual results are concerned, Warby management seems confident enough in its strategy and supply chain to march confidently forward.

Maybe some of these names should be in sharper focus?

While you were sleeping …

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Singles Day is known for being the world's biggest online shopping extravaganza. But this year it has been a more toned down affair as Beijing cracks down on businesses and economic growth slows. Sales for the 11-day event rose at their slowest rate since it was launched in 2009, up 8.5% on last year. BBC

In an effort to expand beyond music, Spotify has been investing hundreds of millions to build out its podcasts business. Now the company has set its sights on another form of audio, with today’s acquisition of digital audiobook distributor Findaway. TechCrunch

In the broader world …

A video published yesterday by Inspired by Iceland, a marketing campaign for Icelandic tourism, takes aim at a Mark Zuckerberg video released in October announcing Facebook’s name change to Meta. In it, Zuckerberg hypes the so-called “metaverse,” a virtual world that “will be the successor to the mobile internet.” CNBC

On the horizon …

Today, 4 p.m. ET: Okta CEO Todd McKinnon in a Fortt Knox 1:1

I’m listening to …